Construction materials and methods are fundamental to my exploration of manufactured spaces. Does the generic quality of the built environment create equally bland people? In Zambia last year, I watched craftsmen pound bricks using basic tools and local termite soil. I couldn’t help but wonder what Western bricks (and buildings) would look like if we used only what we could find in our immediate surroundings. Would we find adequate material? And if not, what would that say about the state of our environment?